Vocational training for Bulolo youths

THE Bulolo joint district planning and budget priority committee has launched a rural capacity building programme utilising the technical vocational education training at the Bulolo vocational centre.
Under the initiative, 84 school leavers will enrol at the centre this year.
 The K120,000 needed for the project is being funded by Bulolo MP Sam Basil’s district support improvement programme funds.
The initiative was devised to assist school leavers from the six local level governments (LLG) of Waria, Watut, Buang, Mumeng, Wau rural, and Wau-Bulolo urban.
The student numbers would increase to 33 for each LLG, up from 14 each from this year’s enrollment, Mr Basil said.
The initiative will  build rural human capacity in basic carpentry, plumbing and joinery, basic electronic and management, hospitality and tourism, brick making, tailoring and food preparations.
“If the outcome based education (OBE) is aimed at arming people to go back to the villages to develop the communities, this should be the way forward,” Bulolo Technical and Vocational centre manager Berom Yawal said.
“Equipping a person with basic technical skills makes one go a long way in living a self reliant life.
“However, it is not happening in outcome based education system that could not settle well into the districts and LLGs,” Mr Yawal said.
 He said the education reform system was turning “young unskilled minds” out onto the streets each year.
“This country needs a work force which is made of 80% technically skilled people who will develop its resources and 20% of administrative people,” Mr Yawal said.